Participants:

AJ – our only child, a 6 year old boy who thinks he knows it all and is the one in charge

What did AJ say????

Do you want to La La and Pop Pop to pick you up from school on Friday?

shrugs and causally says. “Yeah, okay.” As if he is doing them a favor.

After Tony changes the light bulb in the bathroom. “You did a good job, Daddy.”

Please go the bathroom as he walks to hi bed for bedtime.

“No, I don’t have to go.”

“I think you do. Prove to me I’m wrong.”

With lots of complaints he storms off to the bathroom, yells at me, then pees. He then looks at me and says. “Guess you got me.”

“Teddy Bear is 81 today. How do you write 81 Is it an 8 and a 1?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Great, thanks!”

Tony left the TV on twice in the bedroom. Anthony yelled at him. “This is the second time you did this. I’m tired of shutting it off for you.”

Trying to look for a show for AJ on the PBS kids app on ROKU. AJ is getting mad at me.

“Go up, Mommy.” sighs “No, to the left, Mommy.” another sigh “I keep telling you the name of the show.”

When I finally find it I realize it was there in front of me the entire time.

“Mommy, is your brain working today?”

We love the Elf on a Shelf in our house. We make our own rules. Scooby Doo is not mean or mischevious. He doesn’t report on bad behaviors. He loves to play hide and seek with AJ and report all the good things AJ does back to Santa. It’s just a fun tradition we have in our house, one I hope we hold onto for a long time.

Maybe one day AJ will hide him on us…that’s when he can be mischievous and naughty.

AJ and Bonus love each other. She is always happy to see him and he loves to play with her. She’s so calm, gentle, and perfect for his wild and loud boy-self. He is learning how to be calmer and what she likes and doesn’t like. He is learning not to leave any clothes, shoes, or toys out because she’s a little thief.

She is learning how to play with a wild boy, who to listen to him when he reads books and cuddle with him in bed at night as Mommy rubs both their backs.

Mommy’s Payback

One morning while at Whole Foods…I did this and so not ashamed.

Tony was off with AJ, getting a drink for him. I’m walking around with a full cart trying to find them when I see Anthony drop a glass drink. I make sure it’s him, see Tony look at me, then walk away leaving hubby to deal with it.

Later on Tony yells at me. “Why did you do that? You just walked away.”

I shake my head getting ready for my payback.

“First of all you walked into the store with us, then walked off without a word. Ten minutes later you appear eating a sandwich and a drink in your other hand. You never asked us if we needed anything or told us where you were going. You only throughout about your self. Now when AJ drops something and you have to deal with it you want me to help. I don’t think so. Payback is a bitch, right?” I might have thrown a few f-bombs in there for good measure.

???Not sure what to read next???

~~~Just Finished Reading~~~

Goodreads Summary: The Midwife’s Revolt (Audible)

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

After You is quintessential Jojo Moyes—a novel that will make you laugh, cry, and rejoice at being back in the world she creates. Here she does what few novelists can do—revisits beloved characters and takes them to places neither they nor we ever expected.

My Review – 5 stars

I know this book got mixed reviews, but I LOVED it. If the book had Louisa doing all the things Will wanted her to, it would have been boring and predictable. She had to mess up, lose herself, still have a connection to Will, meet new people, see she is more valuable than just one person’s opinion.

I loved that she lost direction, it’s REAL LIFE…couldn’t think of a better sequel to a woman finding herself with the help of a quadriplegic and then helping him to end his life. You can’t expect rainbows after reading that…especially if you know her character.

Does it all work out in the end? Well you will just have to read and see for yourself. I highly recommend it.

~~~Now I’m Reading~~~

Goodreads Summary: The Murder House (Audible)

No. 7 Ocean Drive is a gorgeous, multi-million-dollar beachfront estate in the Hamptons, where money and privilege know no bounds. But its beautiful gothic exterior hides a horrific past: it was the scene of a series of depraved killings that have never been solved. Neglected, empty, and rumored to be cursed, it’s known as the Murder House, and locals keep their distance.

Detective Jenna Murphy used to consider herself a local, but she hasn’t been back since she was a girl. Trying to escape her troubled past and rehabilitate a career on the rocks, the former New York City cop hardly expects her lush and wealthy surroundings to be a hotbed of grisly depravity. But when a Hollywood power broker and his mistress are found dead in the abandoned Murder House, the gruesome crime scene rivals anything Jenna experienced in Manhattan. And what at first seems like an open and shut case turns out to have as many shocking secrets as the Murder House itself, as Jenna quickly realizes that the mansion’s history is much darker than even the town’s most salacious gossips could have imagined. As more bodies surface, and the secret that Jenna has tried desperately to escape closes in on her, she must risk her own life to expose the truth–before the Murder House claims another victim.

Full of the twists and turns that have made James Patterson the world’s #1 bestselling writer, THE MURDER HOUSE is a chilling, page-turning story of murder, money, and revenge.

Totally confused about who could be murderer…so many theories and so many twists.

Want to see who I’m linking up with…check out the full list HERE. Let me know if you want your button added.

Today’s post is a writing challenge. This is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them.

What a great combo of words. Therefore I feel terrible that I have not done it justice.

I am totally stumped about what to write. I feel like every idea I have just fizzles out and loses all creativity. I had lotsof ideas, but couldn’t expand past the initial thought. I wanted to write about commuting to work, bring a mom, cooking dinners, lovefor my family, and blogging. Each idea was met with me just staring at the screen in utter blankness.

There are days I have a bountyof ideas flowing from my brain that I need to write them down before I forget. Those are the moments when it takes staminato keep typing, because the ideas are coming at warp speed. The feeling of just writing and getting my thoughts across is beyond awesome it brings a smile to my face and sunshineto my soul.

My creative side is just saying, “Write and don’t stop writing.” So that is what I am doing. When I do stop, I see it. I have something for this post. While it may bot be creative, inspiring, funny, or emotional, it’s all written and the muse is smiling and now saying, “I thought so.”

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 15 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

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Well I had a few ideas for this post but changed it at the last minute. Why? Well we have two new additions to our family.

I kept pressuring hubby that we needed to adopt another dog for AJ after our sweet Balboa passed away over a year ago. We knew it would be hard to adopt because of our small apartment and wild boy, but an opportunity arose.

My BIL knew a guy who runs a dog rescue and Tony took the trip with him to see if there were any adoptable dogs. Turns out there was.

He didn’t come home with one dog. NO! He came home with two dogs! TWO! That’s right two rescued and bonded rat terriers. Two dogs that were rescued the day before Thanksgiving. Two dogs that were set to be drowned because they were leftovers from a puppy sale. Two dogs that have made my son happy.

Did hubby tell me he was adopting two dogs? NOPE. But he said he couldn’t leave one behind, he said Rambo looked miserable without Bonus. Having two dogs changes EVERYTHING. Having two dogs who are somewhere under a year old changes everything.

We have to

start crate training again

start command training

rearrange our schedules

which sucks with two dogs…but I am determined. Does anyone have any advice or tips?

I am stressed and sick, but know once this crazy stage is over the outcome will be grand. Our son will have two dogs who he grew up with. He is already calling them his brother and sister. I know months down the road he will be happily playing with them in his room or we’ll all take long walks and maybe even teach them really cool tricks.

I’m hoping once the training stage is over they will be okay to lay on the couch when we are not home. The tough part is that I doubt they were ever spoken to…which is going to make command training even more difficult. As of yesterday I have taught Rambo to sit and Bonus follows allong not wanting to miss out. Of course he still looks for a treat, but consistency will make it a habit and soon he will sit because I told him to.

I told AJ that eventually we can train them with all sorts of commands and even have them do tricks. AJ wants to teach them, as if they are his students and he is the teacher. I told him that is a possibility in a few months time.

Make sure to cook ground beef before hand..I sauteed garlic and onion, then added the ground beef.

Directions:~ FIRST mix ricotta, spinach, and shredded cheese ~ add a bit of sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker
~ add noodles (will have to break them to make it all fit and cover the entire span of the slow cooker)
~ add small scoops of the cheese mixture (don’t worry about spreading it evenly. It will spread out when you add more layers on top)
~ Spread scoops of the cooked ground beef
~ Scoop sauce on top
~ REPEAT with noodles, cheese mixture, ground beef, then sauce until you have the desired layers.
~ On top of final layer of noodles, layer sauce evenly and add remaining shredded cheese.
~ add some water to the bottom of the slow cooker to ensure it does not dry out.
~ Cover and put it on low for 3-4 hours.

I learned that I can add more layers since the lasagna becomes heavy and weights itself down. When it’s all done it looks like only half a lasagna.

Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

AJ loved it, Hubby loved and went for seconds! This from a man who ‘hates” couscous! This might be one of my new favorites!

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Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.

AJ – our only child, a 6 year old boy who thinks he knows it all and is the one in charge

“Mommy, please do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Can you pause that? Then stand over here and pose like this?” (Stands how he wants me to stand. I do what he says.)

“Perfect, Mommy.”

Proudly shows me what he painted….my portrait.

Reading a book to his furry friends. “Now talk to your partner about the story.”

“Is that what you’re teacher says?”

“Mommy, stop, I’m playing.”

“Sorry, I just want to know.”

“Fine, yes, now let me be.”

AJ to Daddy…

“Time to wait for the bus. Get your sweater and lets go.”

I signed up AJ or a drama class thinking with all his singing he would love it. It turned out to be a HUGE disaster. He hated the class, hated all the stage directions, hated the songs he had to remember.

“Mommy, I just want to sing my songs.”

No refund, so I just ate that money.At least it was paid with summer money, so it didn’t come out of any bills for September.

AJ farts, loudly sighs, then smiles. “I’m the king of the farts.”

That’s not nice to do to a kid
You’re so mean
I’m going add fast as I can

Recently after karate, we put ton his jacket and he began to scream and cry. I thought it the straw stuck to his jacket and huffed as I pulled it off of him. To my horror a huge wasp flew out of the arm of the coat.

My poor baby was stung by a wasp. Thankfully it was only one sting and he’s not allergic. He was in so much pain, but another karate mom got him ice. The car ride home was terrible for him, because of all the pain and fear. My heart broke for him.

Finally, we got home and I ran a teabag under cold water, put it on his terrible looking sting/bite, wrapped it up with a washcloth, then put masking tape over it to keep it in place. After thirty minutes the spot of the sting was difficult to see and he was feeling better.

Yes, tea bags are amazing. They are great for burns, bites, and stings. The herbs have a healing quality. Sadly I forgot I carry tea bags in my bag, I need to remember this for future incidents.

This Sunday I am turning 40! Tony is turning 41 the following week!

No I’m not ashamed, scared, worried, or angry. I am looking forward to it. Age is just a number, I don’t feel forty at all. Aging is nothing to be ashamed of, we all age and need make it a symbol of accomplishment and power. Instead of trying to hide with anti-aging nonsense or be ashamed of wrinkles and gray hairs, we need to embrace it. If all women took back the power of aging, imagine how we could change society and the cosmetic industries.

???Not sure what to read next???

~~~Just Finished Reading~~~

Goodreads Summary: Skewed (audible)

No birth announcement could top the headlines from the day Janie and Jack Perkins entered the world. As twins born to a mother in a coma—courtesy of a bullet from their father—the sensational story of their birth never quite died down. While Jack still craves the flash of a camera, Janie seeks sanctuary behind the lens—as a crime scene photographer.

Thanks to Janie’s line of work, she’s comfortable around gruesome murders. But when old photos of her mother’s body arrive in the mail, they open deep-seated wounds and raise chilling new questions about who really was responsible for that deadly night.

Did Janie’s father spend decades in jail as an innocent man? Did an infamous serial killer actually take her mother’s life? With photos in hand, Janie brings the truth into focus. But when her investigation ends up evoking the wrath of the long-dormant killer, she must race to piece together the final evidence—before she becomes the target.

My Review – 5 stars

BRAVO!!!! I honestly thought it was going to be a predictable ending and I had it all figured out. I was SO WRONG. I found out when Janie did. so well written and full of suspense and drama. I loved how it started with Grady and then kept switching between Janie and Bridget. Plan on reading her other books!

Highlight for spoilers… (((I really thought it was either Leroy, the man that was stalking Janie or Able, the crazy, religious neighbor. I was WRONG.

It was Grady! Yes, he was the haiku killer. He accidentally got Bridget pregnant and decided it would be good for his image to keep her around.

Leroy found the Haiku Grady wrote and was going to blackmail him, but Bridget got her hands on it. She knew it was Grady. He was coming there to kill her! Leroy was trying to save her. Leroy drugged him and before Grady fell, he purposely shot Bridget wanting to kill her to keep his secret.

Sam, Grady’s right-hand man was being paid off to keep quiet and make a file on Leroy. Grady got out of prison 6 hours earlier and killed Sam to never let the truth out. He pretended to be a good man, but was psychotic.

~~~Now I’m Reading~~~

Goodreads Summary: Pretty Girls (Audible)

#1 internationally bestselling author Karin Slaughter returns with a sophisticated and chilling psychological thriller of dangerous secrets, cold vengeance, and unexpected absolution, in which two estranged sisters must come together to find truth about two harrowing tragedies, twenty years apart, that devastate their lives.

Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that’s cruelly ripped open when Claire’s husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful thriller from one of the finest suspense writers working today.

Okay, there’s quite a few lies going on…Claire needs to find out what’s going on before she becomes a victim. There is a sick connection between everything and I think if they all communicated they would know.

~~~COULD NOT FINISH~~~

While I love twisted, psychopathic stories, I was not into this story. It seemed to be going in a direction that was going to let me down. After I returned it (Audible lets you return books you don’t like and get your money back) I read spoilers and was right. The ending was going to be a HUGE let down..if you’re going to hint another character being twisted…follow through with that character being twisted.

???Not sure what to read next???

~~~Just Finished Reading~~~

Goodreads Summary: The Rumor (audible)

Madeline King and Grace Pancik are best friends and the envy of Nantucket for their perfect marriages, their beautiful kids, their Sunday night double dates with their devoted husbands. But this summer, something’s changed, and if there’s anything Nantucket likes better than cocktails on the beach at sunset, it’s a good rumor.

And rumor has it…

…that Madeline, a novelist, is battling writer’s block, with a deadline looming, bills piling up, and blank pages driving her to desperation–and a desperately bad decision;

…that Grace, hard at work to transform her backyard into a garden paradise, has been collaborating a bit more closely that necessary with her ruggedly handsome landscape architect;

…that the storybook romance between Madeline’s son, Brick, and Grace’s daughter Allegra is on the rocks, heading for disaster.

As the gossip escalates, and they face the possible loss of the happy lives they’ve worked so hard to create, Grace and Madeline try mightily to set the record straight–but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it

My Review – 5 stars

Great plot…I was captivated and waiting for it all to blow up in everyone’s face…great ending. A MUST READ!!!!

Really didn’t feel bad for Grace, she is stupid, spoiled, and privileged and rather be off having an affair than raising her daughters. Does Benton REALLY love her????

Eddie is despicable…got what he deserved. Madeline…really a bad decision, why????

Allegra is only doing what she was raised to do…and poor Hope seems to be forgotten about.

Gossip and rumors are everywhere, it’s amazing how much they can destroy a life.

The kids are becoming like their parents, living life as if they are the most important people on the planet and gossiping about everyone else…hoping to hurt them.

Highlight for spoilers… (((Grace is stupid, spoiled, and privileged. She rather have an affair than raise her kids. She would never leave Eddie, because money and a privileged life is more important to her. Eddie is a pig, prostituting out girls only a few years older than his daughters. He deserved a real prison, not the easy time he’s getting. Benton thought he loved Grace, but he loved his career more. He was planning to leave after the summer anyway. It was all fun for him and he got int he paper. Madeline using her friend’s life for her book, no excuses! Yes be mad her and her daughter are cheating, but don’t write about her life. Glad she never published it. Eddie’s sister Barbie, what a pig she is too. She helped Eddie and knew what was coming and never warned him. Then she gets off free????

Thankfully Allegra learned her lesson and with her sister’s help turned her life around. Maybe there is a better life for Allegra? Maybe she will be a real sister for Hope now? There is hope that when Eddie gets out of prison he will start a new life with Grace and treat her like his wife instead of never being home.)))

~~~Now I’m Reading~~~

Goodreads Summary: Skewed(Audible)

No birth announcement could top the headlines from the day Janie and Jack Perkins entered the world. As twins born to a mother in a coma—courtesy of a bullet from their father—the sensational story of their birth never quite died down. While Jack still craves the flash of a camera, Janie seeks sanctuary behind the lens—as a crime scene photographer.

Thanks to Janie’s line of work, she’s comfortable around gruesome murders. But when old photos of her mother’s body arrive in the mail, they open deep-seated wounds and raise chilling new questions about who really was responsible for that deadly night.

Did Janie’s father spend decades in jail as an innocent man? Did an infamous serial killer actually take her mother’s life? With photos in hand, Janie brings the truth into focus. But when her investigation ends up evoking the wrath of the long-dormant killer, she must race to piece together the final evidence—before she becomes the target.

Got good reviews on Audible and seems like a twisted, but captivating read. Really hope it’s not predictable and has the unexpected ending everyone says it will.

Want to see who I’m linking up with…check out the full list HERE. Let me know if you want your button added.

All recipes and meals are made with organic, real food and/or NON-GMO products.

In addition to AJ not eating hamburgers and cheeseburgers, he has now sworn off pasta. That’s right he doesn’t want any pasta. Why? He rather just have a bowl of meatballs or ground beef. Thankfully, he still loves rice…so I found a great way to incorporate rice with his ground beef only request.

Not eating pasta won’t be too tough, I rather eat rice or quinoa. This will be tough on hubby, since I refuse to make separate meals. I make dinner, you eat it or not dessert. Don’t worry, he’s still a big carb guy as he loves to eat sandwiches and fries.

The great thing about this dish is that it’s quick to make (as long as you make the rice the day before). The prep of chopping onions and garlic and sauteing them, then cooking the ground beef, finally adding the sauce and peas is not a long process. If your kid likes ground beef, this will be a big hit. Even better you can use the leftovers inside of dough or as a topping on pizza or nachos!

Yes, buying organic/NON-GMO is expensive. Until there is a big change in food production and what consumers buy, healthy choices will always be more expensive. If you want to start small with organic…here are some great tips.